MOM SUES SCHOOL:

High school girl banned from graduation over Facebook ‘bikini photo’

2:37 pm | Wednesday, March 28th, 2012

CEBU CITY, Philippines—For posing in a bikini, and posting photos in her Facebook account, a 16-year-old girl won’t be allowed to attend her graduation ceremony on Friday.

The punishment meted by St. Theresa’s College high school was called “too harsh” and “unjust” by her mother, a resident of Lapu-Lapu City, who sued officials of the private Catholic school.

Regional Trial Court Judge Wilfredo Navarro Tuesday ordered the school to show him a copy of the photos, and the Student Handbook which bans several actions, including “engaging in immoral, indecent, obscene or lewd acts.”

“I will have my own standards on whether or not it is lewd,” said the judge in a court hearing on the mother’s petition of injunction and damages.

His decision will have to be made soon if the student hopes to join her graduation class in marching up the stage to receive a diploma on March 30.

Cebu Daily News is withholding the identities of mother and daughter since the student is a minor.

The girl will be allowed to graduate but is barred from joining the commencement exercise on Friday.

The family’s lawyer Enrique Lacerna said the girl was photographed in a “family-related outing” and was “not given a chance to answer the allegations” when she was meted the sanctions in a notice last March 1.

The student was cited for violating five provisions in the STC Student Handbook, including a rule against “posing and uploading pictures on the Internet that entail ample body exposure.”

Lawyer Romeo Balili, counsel for STC, said the private school is just doing what is right in disciplining its students.

“STC is a Catholic school governed by the teachings of the Catholic Church. We have to see to it that values are formed,” Balili told reporters after the hearing.

“We are not happy with the penalty but we are forced to impose it because we have to form the values of children.”

Four other STC graduating students are barred from attending the commencement exercises on Friday for alleged violation of school’s rules.

Their lawyer Cornelio Mercado, said he will formally ask the court to allow them to intervene in the case.

“There were allegations (by school officials) that that there are photos showing the students wearing bikini tops and a towel,” Mercado said, including one wearing a sleeveless top with her bra visible during the Sinulog festival.

The girl’s mother is seeking the issuance of a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) against school officials and damages for the “humiliation” suffered by her daughter.

Parties were given until today to submit their memorandum.

Named defendants were the STC High School Department represented by Sister Celeste Ma. Purisima Pe, the school principal; assistant principal Mussolini Yap; Marnie Racaza, moderator of student affairs; Kristine Rose Ligot, discipline in charge; and Edita Josephine Yu, homeroom adviser.

CDN yesterday called the STC faculty for comment but Mrs. Edisita Arnejo who answered the call said only the school’s lawyer was authorized to speak.

Based on the petition, the school issued a document “Probation: An Administrative Sanction for a Violation” which showed the alleged violations committed by the student based on the Student Handbook.

It was signed by the student with a promise not to commit the offenses again. Her mother signed “Conforme” to attest that the principal or discipline-in-charge “has conferred with me regarding my daughter’s misdemeanor and the corresponding sanctions.”

Among the rules allegedly violated were: l. possession of alcoholic drinks outside the school campus 2. engaging in immoral, indecent, obscene or lewd acts 3. smoking and drinking alcoholic beverages in public places 4. apparel that exposes underwear and 5. posing and uploading pictures on the Internet that entail ample body exposure

As sanctions, the student was given a grade of D for “personality” for the 4th quarter which was later changed to C “for humanitarian reasons” and she was barred from joining the commencement exercise, and other school activities, functions and privileges like the Senior’s Bash and practices for graduation.

Her lawyer said the Facebook account was “private” and limited to friends so school officials obtained information that was “not for public consumption.”

“A family or pirate social activity, such as birthday etc. does not involve the school’s supervision and control. The activity is permitted by the parents, who have the resources to support the activity’s expenses,” said the petition.

To add insult to injury, said the petition, the school principal said the “minor(s) will sit on the stage if they are forced to join in the graduation rites” or words to that effect.

The petition said the student has passed academic requirements and earned the right to join the March 30 commencement exercise.

It argued that the girl was not given due process with this “unjust grave sanction” and was humiliated.

“My client was bullied. It caused trauma on the child. Instead of honoring the school, the child got mad at the institution,” Lacerna said

He said the school should answer for the stigma suffered by the student for being banned from joining the commencement exercise.

He also said STC prevented the Department of Education from exercising its authority to review a grave sanction. He explained that under DepEd policy, when a student commits a serious offense, the school administration should file an administrative complaint against the concerned individuals.

First posted 08:10 am | Wednesday, March 28th, 2012

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Tags: Cebu City , Facebook , Graduation , Photo , St. Theresa’s College

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_22PRRPV4XKOOIC5TBS2ZLT7PZQ Tirador Ngbuwaya

Pwede ba alisin nyo na tong balita na to. . . Walang kakwenta kwenta itong balita na to. Walang contribution sa nation building, . . .

http://pulse.yahoo.com/_J7CZYPZWNB37S6GTPBJQF6Y7BM Fight D Bigots

don’t read it then

dot136

It seems to me that what the student did was to violate at lest
one of the rules of St. Theresa’s College high school by appearing in a bikini
that was uploaded on to Facebook.

Lets look at the facts, the mum and the daughter knew the
uploading photos of this kind was against school policy.

5. posing and uploading pictures on the Internet that entail
ample body exposure.

Did the mum and the daughter know about this rule?

Yes. They did because they both signed off on this, agreeing
that the daughter would not upload a
photo that “entail ample body exposure”. Now St Theresa’s school did not specify
or give a percentage of how much body could be exposed on a internet photo but I
think we could all agree that a bikini does show “ample body exposure”.

Therefore we can all agree that the mum and the daughter
broke at lest one of the school rules.

Now the mother says “The punishment meted by St. Theresa’s
College high school was called “too harsh” and “unjust”…

No. Not unjust! May be too harsh. But not unjust! Nothing to
my reading says that somebody stuck a gun to the mum’s head and forced her to
send her daughter to go to St. Theresa’s College high school. No one forced
them to sign the handbook. The mum and daughter signed the handbook because the
mum (I am assuming) wanted her daughter to attend that school. Therefore the
mum and the daughter have to abide by the rules of the school. If you don’t
like the rules don’t send your children there.

Now on the other hand if the mum wanted, she could have
signed the handbook agreeing in principle to the rules of the school and then
attend the monthly CSAC (Catholic School Advisory Council) meetings and ask principal
and chair of CSAC. What happens if you are at the beach on a family vacation
and someone without your permission uploads a picture on the internet? Or what
about if my daughter has a glass of wine in a restaurant while attending a
family party? Check out the rules, ask CSAC to change or get an interpretation
of the rules or take your child out of the school. The point is you don’t
change a rule by breaking it!

Now Ms Mara Manipon writes “It happened at the beach, what
do you expect, kids wearing long sleeves and pants? And can’t some people
understand that the photos were meant to be posted PRIVATELY, not intending for
them to see?”

Ms Manipon the operative word here is MEANT to be posted
PRIVATELY. Anyone knows that anything, photo or written is never private on the
internet. It is out there for everyone to see which, is precisely the point. If
it was MEANT to be private then how did St. Theresa’s College school see the
pictures. Lawyer Cornelio Mercado has seen them and will present copies in
court.

Ms Manipon writes further “It is a PRIVATE family gathering”.
Read the
rule Ms Manipon.

5. posing and uploading pictures on the Internet that entail
ample body exposure.

It does not say if
the pictures are at the beach, at home on vacation, it only has to be uploaded
on to the internet. If you are posing in a picture that is uploaded to the
internet that entail ample body exposure then you have broken a rule and which
I am sure you will agree that a bikini does expose amply well.

The student uploaded the pictures. The student broke the
rules. The student must be punished. Albeit rather a harsh punishment, but none
the less has to be punished

My only hope is that other students at St. Theresa’s College
high school get the message not only to follow the rules but not to tease and
belittle the offending student but to show her the love and mercy that our Lord
would have given.
http://pulse.yahoo.com/_OGZBGWUBZZ4DNW74LHRBG7CTJU nina

i believe that what happens outside school and with their parent’s consent is out of the realms of the school with the exception if the student is wearing an identifiable garment or object that would show the identity of the school. what i find interesting here is that the school is so particular about their “image” being portrayed by the student wearing a bikini posted on her page in FB attending a private function. shouldn’t the focus be on what the student perceives as a “good image” for the school and what is the school doing to achieve that?

student handbooks are guidelines that parents, students, teachers and administrators should be aware of its contents and its interpretation. although the statements pertaining to the offenses being mettled is vague and subject to interpretation “ample body exposure”, shouldn’t the school as well as the parents have reviewed the handbook and made sure that these rules have no “loop holes” or possible “gray areas”? i am sure that being a private school, they have excellent lawyer representation and that should have been addressed even before the handbooks were printed and distributed to the student body. as a school, it is your responsibility to ensure correct, factual, concrete and concise information is printed on your handbook before the student body gets to peruse it. as a student, it is your responsibility to know your limitations and if questions arise, for you to ask and seek answers to these questions.

what is more intriguing for me is how STC handled the whole situation after a TRO has been issued by the court. whether there is an error in the TRO or one deems the TRO is unjust, incorrect, there is a certain procedure/process that has to be followed that should have been done by the school to address this problem. alas, no! the school decided to act on their own and disrespect the court’s decision about the TRO. that for me is the biggest and most concrete example of how STC showed its’ true colors- that they can address punishment to an individual because the student violated their rules in the handbook and yet they in return, violated and disrespected the rule of law given by the court! we are talking about national law and not just a student handbook. so how do you expect now students to follow your rules when you yourselves do not follow the law or the process to address an error in a decision handed down by the court?! should the school be held in contempt? i believe so because this just shows how STC believes that they have the power to be above the law. our justice system nowadays may be in shambles but that is not a reason to disregard the law. STC, you are not above the law and should follow a TRO as directed. but then again, there is a precedent to such action performed by the higher ups in the government and STC has just shown us that such behavior is in congruence to their “image”.

as a school, you are to educate young minds and mould them that includes following the rules of law. as a student, it is your responsibility to follow the rules of the school you are attending and respect your limitations as well. as parents, it is your responsibility to follow up in the teachings of the school as well as develop the minds of your children to be better individuals. again, it all boils down to RESPECT and RESPONSIBILITY which is now very much lost in our society.
dot136

Thank you Nina. Great article. I think everyone who has an
interest in St. Theresa’s College high school should read this. But just one point
I would like to make is, you mentioned

“although the
statements pertaining to the offenses being mettled is vague and subject to
interpretation “ample body exposure”, shouldn’t the school as well as
the parents have reviewed the handbook and made sure that these rules have no
“loop holes” or possible “gray areas”? i am sure that being
a private school, they have excellent lawyer representation and that should
have been addressed even before the handbooks were printed and distributed to
the student body.”

The handbooks are created by CSAC (Catholic School Advisory
Council) or something similar. The CSAC is composed of, one principal, one
chair, at lest one parent representative and usually a parent who looks after
the finances of CSAC and a parent who agrees to take the minutes of the
meeting. There must also be a certain number of parents present in order to
form a quorum. All these positions are volunteer positions. Even the principal
does not get paid extra for attending these meeting, though he or she must attend.
There is never a lawyer present unless one of the parents happens to practice
law. Lawyers will not come to the CSAC meetings pro bono and neither can school
advisory councils afford to pay P2,000.00 an hour for one. Yes. There are
lawyers who work at the board level but at the board, their job is to give
legal council to the board, they have nothing to do with CSAC.

The rules and regulations in the handbook are created by
CSAC members, just ordinary parents. Most Catholic boards believe that parents
have an invested interest in there children’s education that is why each
Catholic school has a CSAC or something similar. The parents get together and
discuss what they want to see happen in their school and what rules and regulations
would be most fitting for the school and students.

Nina, I agree with you 100% absolutely!

“as a student, it is
your responsibility to follow the rules of the school you are attending and
respect your limitations as well. as parents, it is your responsibility to
follow up in the teachings of the school”.

Nina, CSAC is open to all parents who have a child in the
school and CSAC is open to all students who attend the school. The monthly
meeting are published in the school news letter which should come out every
month. CSAC (or something similar your meeting might be known by a different
name) is required by the board to meet a minimum amount of times during the
school year and minutes of the meetings must be submitted to the board.

If your school does not have a CSAC, then start one. Speak to the principal; tell him or her that
this school needs a CSAC. Speak to the parents who want to take an interest in
the school. Have them come out, ask questions, put forth ideas and have the
ideas voted on and ideas become school law.

Parents can make a difference! All that is needed is for
parents to take a real interest.

Thanks again Nina

High school girl banned from graduation over Facebook ‘bikini photo’

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